Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans was an independently produced spin-off from Doctor Who featuring the Sontarans and the Rutans, which directly tied into a Virgin New Adventuresnovel published at the time. Produced by Dreamwatch Media and released by Reeltime Pictures it featured (like many spin-offs of the era) several Doctor Who actors and also former Blake's 7 actor Jan Chappell in feature roles. It is also notable for the altered appearance of the Sontarans; this was due to licensing arrangements meaning they had to be redesigned for the production.

The unlicensed nature of the Dreamwatch production meant that they could not even refer to the character of the Doctor by name, hence Kurt's recollection of a man who "Called himself the Physician, or the Dentist, or something..." For the same reason, in BBV Productions' video spin-off drama Auton (1997), Lockwood is heard to refer to the Doctor as "Dr. John Smith".

Similarly, the copyright to the Sontarans was acquired, but not the specific rights to their appearance, and so they have been redesigned for this story.

Although the longstanding war between the Sontarans and the Rutan Host was frequently mentioned in Doctor Who, this video marks the only occasion in which the two opposing species appear on-screen together.

Mark Ayres who had previously worked on Doctor Who as a composer was co-producer and post-production sound designer.[1]

The shoot and production of this story took four months to complete a final product.[1]